Photo by Erin Nelson.
Runners make the final strides to the finish line at Lakeshore Park Plaza in the annual Birmingham Wine 10k in March 2020.
The nonprofit Aspire Sports Institute is moving its Wine 10K road race from Homewood to Hoover this year and adding a 5K option.
The runs are scheduled for March 6 at the Finley Center in the Hoover Metropolitan Complex.
For the first five years, the Wine 10K was held in Homewood, but the Aspire Sports Institute decided to move it to Hoover because the institute wanted people to be able to see its new home at the Finley Center, said Joseph Longoria, the race founder and director of development for the institute.
The Aspire Sports Institute, which seeks to optimize athletic experiences for athletes across the country through performance training, education and innovation, moved into a 7,200-square-foot space in the Finley Center in June 2019. That space includes a rest and recovery lab, a Drayer physical therapy clinic and sports performance training area.
The Wine 10K and new Benchmark First Responder 5K option will both start at 7 a.m. at the Finley Center and will cover the same route, except the 10K runners will make a second loop, Longoria said.
The course starts between the Finley Center and Hoover Metropolitan Stadium, winds around the stadium and past the new baseball/softball complex, turns right onto Buccaneer Drive, right onto Flemming Parkway, right onto Mineral Trace and back to the Finley Center, Longoria said. Hoover police wanted to keep the race off Stadium Trace Parkway to keep from affecting traffic on that busy road.
The race has grown over the years and last year had about 1,400 runners, and organizers hope the addition of the 5K will draw even more people. They are asking attendees to wear masks except while running the course.
The cost to participate is $60 for the 10K and $35 for the 5K. The price will go up another $5 during the week before the race, likely on March 3, Longoria said. Runners can choose a “virtual race” option (to run on their own at another time or place) and still be included with a $25 entry fee.
